Be a successful sale shopper

[softgrey]

Be a successful sales shopper
Do...
• Set a budget - and stick to it.
• Repeat this mantra before you enter every shop: I will NOT buy anything that does not fit or flatter me.
• Shop in flat shoes - but carry heels in your bag so you can check hem lengths and proportions.
• Ignore the remnants' bin; if nobody else wants it, why should you?
• Avoid anything that's too fussy: elaborate decorations - bows, frills, flounces, trims - will quickly lose their appeal.
• Check labels for complicated care instructions. You don't want to buy a blouse that needs dry-cleaning every time you wear it.
• Always try clothes on - even if you have to queue
- and carry a small mirror, so you can check your rear view. Does it strain over your shoulders, accentuate your "saddle bags", or pucker around your waist?
Don't...
• Waste time. Being a successful sales shopper requires planning, speed and ruthless decision making, so stake out your favourite shops beforehand and ask a friendly assistant what might be reduced that is perfect for you. Find out where it will be hanging so you can head straight for your target.
• Be seduced by huge price reductions; nothing is a bargain if you cannot wear, or don't even like it.
• Sales shop with a friend; you will either have opposite tastes or end up fighting over the last Chloé shift in a size 12.
• Buy anything that needs altering. It will end up - unaltered and unworn - in a charity shop.
• Shop after a girly lunch - your judgment will be impaired. Better to meet your girlfriends later.
• Experiment. Cashmere polo necks, tailored trousers, trench-coats and little black dresses are always good investments - garish knits are not.
• Buy out of desperation. If you can't find anything you want, save your pennies for the spring collections.



telegraph.co.uk

 

[brokenenglish]

Don't...
• Buy anything that needs altering. It will end up - unaltered and unworn - in a charity shop

I don't agree w/ this.
Sometimes an item of clothing is just a small alteration away from being perfect for you.

 

[strawberry daiquiri]

• Ignore the remnants' bin; if nobody else wants it, why should you?

because everyone is unique, perhaps?


Thanks for the list, I disagree about setting a budget though... I'd rather spend more now on many things.

 

[softgrey]

many of us are more diehard fashion fans..
while most of these dos and donts are intended for the general population...

i agree- i have no problem doing some alterations...

though i have a good friend who is the average trendy shopaholic...
and she has more things than i can count just sitting in her closet for years waiting to be altered!


same with the bargain bins...
i found an amazing top on one rack for only $5.99 becuase no one else who was looking at the rack understood how to wear the garment or thought it was damaged because it had raw edges...



still...
sometimes these lists just get you thinking and inspire you so i still think it's interesting...


*can you imagine dragging an EXTRA pair of shoes around with you all day in your bag>?..

maybe if i was specifically shopping for a party dress or something...
but for sale shopping???..
get real!...

 

[kristi_b]

still...
sometimes these lists just get you thinking and inspire you so i still think it's interesting...

I agree. Fun thread, as I consider myself to be a diehard bargain shopaholic . Probably the only thing I disagree with is, don't waste time and be ruthless. I'm very patient when I shop and take my time and look everywhere. This especially is true in big stores like Macy's, or outlet stores like Off 5th & Nordies Rack. I've found the best things in the most unlikely places. However, if I'm boutique shopping, I can usually tell within the first 30 seconds, whether it's the right place to spend time in, or not.

 

[Deborah]

I am sick of the sales already. Nothing is ever my size.

 

[Hebden]

Don't "Shop after a girly lunch"...does this mean don't shop after several martinis? If so, I disagree...I find myself less affected by sticker shock after a cocktail

Seriously though, one of the British newspapers' (I think it was The Guardian) had three articles on "how to shop the sales"...which seemed a little over-the-top.

 

[seanutbutter]

Don't...
Sales shop with a friend; you will either have opposite tastes or end up fighting over the last Chloé shift in a size 12.

She can have it; I'm not a size 12.

My only rule for sales shopping is this: There are no rules! I made the mistake of planning every last detail when I went to Disneyland a few years ago, and we ended up throwing the list away (actually, I just packed it in my bag) and going by how we felt each day.

Planning ahead can be nice in some situations, but for the most part it will actually make your trip more hectic, whether it be to a shopping mall or to Disneyland.

 

[LauraCampbell]

on the alteration note. i found a studded dress that had a few studs dangling off for £144 down from £200. so i went to the counter and said i wouldn't pay £144 if it was faulty. they gave me £35 off to pay for repairs which took me at the most half an hour in front of hollyoaks. once upon a time i got a £70 skirt for £15 because the button was missing (but there was a replacement on the label...) so keep an eye out for tiny faults because half the staff can't be bothered to argue otherwise at this time of year!

the sales are BAD for my bank balance.

 

[LauraCampbell]

also if you're in topshop (a place where i dare not venture near in the sales) they often mess up the sale tagging as it's just done with a gun so 2 of the same skirt can be very different prices...

 

[Erin]

Thanks for posting, soft. It was a fun read.

I am a bargain shopoholic. Growing up with frugal parents really taught me well.

And if I spent full price on clothes, well... what would the fun be in that? I get so much more from finding an item at a spectacular price.

 

[Autumn]

Eschewing sales and saving up for pieces I really wanted and thought long and hard about marked a major turning point in my wardrobe. I'm much happier with it now. For me, sales shopping is a no-no altogether.

 

[cinechrome]

Be a successful sales shopper
• Repeat this mantra before you enter every shop: I will NOT buy anything that does not fit or flatter me.

Haha, so true! People are a little zany and will buy anything on sale.

 

[Suburban Snob]

Thanks so much for the list, it was a great and practial read!!

 

[cosmogrl5]

Thanks for posting, soft. It was a fun read.

I am a bargain shopoholic. Growing up with frugal parents really taught me well.

And if I spent full price on clothes, well... what would the fun be in that? I get so much more from finding an item at a spectacular price.

My thoughts exactly. I get so much satisfaction out of finding bargains. It is like a fun challenge that I have just won. Anybody can pay full price, but not everybody can sniff out a major discount!

 

[C. Bradshaw]

I don't agree with some of your points. Like the remnants bin!! i always look there because you can find the most nice, unique things there!! haha and I guess experimenting is good in sale!! better than experiment without sale and not like it after all for more money! but I agree with the things as shop alone and to not buy out of desperation!! because that is what i hate about sale. I know so many friends of mine who bought something because it was so cheap (but never wear it). i stopped doing it and it feels great. I judge my sale items the same as i do with the 'normal' priced garments (ok a little less critical) and that works the best.

x

 

[oceanharlot]

I always take a friend shopping with me during sales. I just make sure we wear different sizes! It totally helps to have someone to say to you "yeah, it's super discounted and I know it's <insert name brand here>, but its not working on you."

and a few martinis make the grabby compulsive shoppers less irritating.

 

[LauraCampbell]

i generally go with my mum or a male friend who likes shopping (oh the advantage of doing a fashion degree..) otherwise there are handbags at dawn

 

[alix*]

Don't...
• Sales shop with a friend; you will either have opposite tastes or end up fighting over the last Chloé shift in a size 12.

Too true! I never shop with friends because they always pick up what I want before I get it or they always have a lot more $$$$ than me.

 

[CharlottefromCA]

Don't...
• Be seduced by huge price reductions; nothing is a bargain if you cannot wear, or don't even like it.

So true, I sometimes shop with my mom and she always pushes stuff on me thats on sale because she says its nice and its discounted, but I always have to tell her "It fits.. but I just don't like it.."

When i was younger I would buy and buy things on sale, and then i realized I had a closet full of thing that weren't really bad, but weren't really nice either...